Laura Montez
'Laura Priscilla Montez '(née Cunningham) is an American politician who served as the 46th President of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Montez assumed office after winning the vote in the Senate that resulted from the tied 2016 presidential election. Prior to this, she served as a United States Senator from New Mexico. She is the second female President of the United States, the first being Montez's predecessor and eventual successor, Selina Meyer. Montez was born in Connecticut and raised just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. She later moved to New Mexico and married Alejandro Montez, who was born in Mexico, using his ethnic heritage to her advantage. In the 2016 presidential election, she was selected to be the vice presidential nominee on the Republican Party ticket to Arizona Senator Bill O'Brien. The O'Brien-Montez ticket went up against incumbent President Selina Meyer and her running mate, former Senator Tom James. However, the electoral college tied, and after the House was unable to choose between O'Brien and Meyer, the Senate selected Montez to serve as Acting President until the House deliberates again, which Speaker Jim Marwood assured would not happen, making Montez's presidency permanent until January 20, 2021. During her tenure as President, Montez fulfilled a supreme court vacancy, nominating former President Stuart Hughes to replace the late Justice Tenny. Montez also won the Nobel Peace Prize after being praised for freeing Tibet, though it was actually her predecessor that did the work. Montez was also able to navigate the 2018 government shutdown, wherein a coalition of congresspeople known as the Jeffersons struck down a debt-ceiling bill and demanded that the government eradicate daylight savings. Montez lost re-election in the 2020 presidential election to former President Selina Meyer and her running mate Jonah Ryan. Montez is portrayed by Andrea Savage. Description Originally from the suburbs of Cincinnati but fluent in Spanish, President Laura Montez is here to remind you she is the embodiment of diversity. Background Laura Priscilla Cunningham was born in Connecticut and raised just outside of Cleveland, Ohio. Sometime later, she moved to New Mexico and became a U.S. Senator. In 2001/02, Laura moved to New Mexico. She married Alejandro Montez, a Mexican-born whose family is from Jalisco, Mexico. In Selina Meyer's autobiography, Meyer claims that the decision to marry Alejandro was shrewd, calculated, and a political move; however, this is just Meyer's opinion and perhaps out of spite. Laura and Alejandro soon had Caterina, and then twins Alejandro and Jorge. U.S. Senate (until 2017) New Mexico Senator Laura Montez is first mentioned in Convention. While Selina was trying to find her own running mate last minute, Sue reports that Bill O'Brien has selected her as his running mate. This complicates Selina's campaign, as Montez is both a woman and a Latina American. On Election Night, the electoral college tie presents the possibility for either vice presidential candidate (herself or Tom James) to become President. Though the Meyer team attempts to break the electoral tie by winning a recount in Nevada, they ultimately fail and the tie stands. In an attempt to secure the presidency for himself, Tom James manipulates the House of Representatives' vote via abstentions, confident that he can win a vote in the Senate. This backfires when Montez then manipulates a tie in the Senate, to be decided by Vice President Doyle. Having negotiated a deal with him, wherein she would become President and he would be Secretary of State, Doyle casts his vote for her and she is declared the winner of the election. Presidency (2017 - 2021) Main article: Presidency of Laura Montez Shortly after Montez wins the vote in the Senate, House Speaker Jim Marwood announces that the House will not vote again on the Presidency. Montez later gives a statement that O'Brien supports her presidency and will be helping her through the transition. Selina and Montez bump heads at a coffee meeting between the two on inauguration. At her inauguration, Montez gives an inaugural address primarily in English with additional Spanish. During her address, CNN credits her with the freeing of Tibet that had been negotiated by Selina in Camp David. According to Selina in her autobiography, Montez did nothing to clarify who was responsible for the Tibet credit and gladly accepted the glory. Later that year, Montez was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize for the freeing of Tibet. Montez attended the opening of the Stuart Hughes Presidential Library and Museum with Alejandro when it opened in January 2018. In March 2018, following the death of Supreme Court Justice Tenny, Montez was tasked with nominating a supreme court justice to replace Tenny. It was speculated that former President Selina Meyer would be on that short list, and the rumors escalated when Montez announced she would reach across the aisle for the Justice pick. Ultimately, Montez nominated former President Stuart Hughes. In Ju ly 2018, a group of Congresspeople known as "The Jeffersons" torpedoed a bill to raise the debt ceiling that had been approved both by Speaker Marwood and Minority Leader Furlong. This leads to an economic crisis and a subsequent government shutdown. Montez appeared at Selina Meyer's portrait unveiling later that day, but had to cut her speech short in order to deal with the shutdown. Montez makes a deal with Jonah to end the shutdown, but he refuses until she ends Daylight Savings. She goes behind his back and makes a deal with The Jeffersons, who rename themselves. After a leak reveals all about the Meyer presidency, it is revealed that Montez did nothing to free tibet and it was all Meyer. According to Kent towards the end of Groundbreaking, Montez's numbers are "under agua". In Super Tuesday, it was revealed that Montez is running for re-election and that Keith Quinn and the Chinese are helping her get re-elected. When Selina Meyer secretly makes a deal with China to give them back Tibet, the Chinese switch their allegiance to her. She ends up defeating Montez in the general election. Post-Presidency (2021 - present) Laura Montez's presidency ended at noon on January 20, 2021. She is the last known Republican president in the Veep universe. However, the timeline dictates that it is possible there could be two one-term or one two-term Republican presidents before Richard Splett, the current President, took office in 2041. In 2044/45, Montez attended the funeral of former President Selina Meyer. The funeral was also attended by former President Kemi Talbot, who, unlike Montez, would be the first multi-racial President of the United States. Jonah, watching from home, remarks that Montez still looks attractive. Trivia -In the show, the House of Representatives deadlocks during the vote for President, and neither Meyer nor O'Brien are elected. The Senate elects Laura Montez for Vice President. Since the presidency is vacant, Montez ascends to the presidency. In real life, this situation could not occur. If there is no President-elect certified by Inauguration Day, the Vice President-elect would serve as Acting President. The House of Representatives would have to continue holding votes until there is a winner, at which point the Acting President would go back to serving as Vice President. It would not be possible for the House to allow the Acting President to remain in office indefinitely. -Montez's daughters name is Caterina. This is an Italian/Catalan form of the name Catherine, the daughter of Selina Meyer. Gallery CzlC4EsUoAAh-z4.jpg-large.jpeg Cv6F9MpVMAQAc5r.jpg-large.jpeg CzlAAeTVIAAxLYU.jpg-large.jpeg Screen Shot 2017-01-05 at 9.57.08 PM.png Screen Shot 2017-02-26 at 6.24.56 PM.png Cl_hOndUYAE93im.jpg-large.jpeg Cl6am65UkAAkFUy.jpg-large.jpeg Montez607.jpeg Screen Shot 2019-05-15 at 11.16.28 PM.png Screen Shot 2019-05-15 at 11.16.37 PM.png Screen Shot 2019-05-15 at 11.16.20 PM.png See also * Presidency of Laura Montez (2017 - 2021) ** Independence of Tibet ** United States federal government shutdown of 2018 Appearances * Nev-AD-a * The Eagle * Inauguration * Justice * Qatar * Blurb * Judge * Veep (episode) Offices and distinctions Category:Minor characters Category:Characters Category:Presidents Category:Senators Category:Republicans Category:Season 5 Characters